Tag Archives: High impact opening lines for books

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Welcome to my new feature called Wednesday Wing where I’ll be passing on

observations, tips and information to readers I’ve made a note of.

Today I’m passing on a tip about HIGH IMPACT opening lines.

I read several books a week, each time I open a new book I look forward to the first lines pulling me in, making me ask questions, getting me inside the head of a character. To me that’s the making of a great book.

The more books I read the more I DISLIKE prologues/ prefaces, quotes and poems, pages which, for me, interfere with launching myself into the book.

What I want is a gem of a book which grabs me and takes me off on an adventure, an escape from my ordinary life and one where I can’t stop turning the pages.

I’m going to grab some books from my bookshelf and tell you their first sentence and let’s see which ones we would carry on reading.

It was at a love-spinning that I saw Kester first. (Precious Bane by Mary Webb) A small hook for me I want to know what a love-spinning is and who Kester is?

“I need poison…now…this very night” (The Gallows Curse by Karen Maitland) Another small hook, who needs the poison? Why is their speech drawn out? Are they ill or out of breath?

It was dark under the trees, only a little moonlight penetrating the half-bare branches. (Sovereign by C.J Sansom) No real hook here for me.

Death…David lifted his eyes from the desk, looking at the framed photograph of Duane Hanson’s plastic sculpture “Supermarket Lady”. (Handling The Undead by John Lindqvist) A small hook, who is David? but the rest did nothing for me, in fact the word plastic turned me off.

A flash of moonlight touched her hair with silver as she scurried along the street into town. (Cold Sacrifice by Leigh Russell) A very small hook, who is this lady? But not very exciting.

“Ever-Wait!” Damen reaches toward me, grasping my shoulder, hoping to slow me, to bring me to him, but I keep moving forward, can’t afford the delay. (Ever Lasting by Alyson Noel) A good hook. who is Damen? What are they running from or to? Are they running or walking fast? Why can’t they afford a delay?

The road was a killer, hardly wider than a decent stream of spit and snaking like a cobra between giant bushes loaded with strange flowers that resembled drops of blood. (Indulgence in Death by J.D Robb) This one hooked me, in fact it had me reading on…Why was the road a killer? Where is it set? Is the blood a significance? Why does the narrator choose these analogies? What is their mind-set? Are they male or female?